ATLANTA – It didn’t take Kansas State’s run to the Elite Eight – minus arguably its best player — for coach Bruce Weber to find out what kind of team he had. He learned that back in January, when point guard Kamau Stokes’ injury turned the season outlook its darkest. Junior guard Barry Brown Jr. called his teammates together. They watched film and then held a practice when they were supposed to take that Sunday off.

That’s how K-State could finish fourth in a Big 12 that placed the three teams that finished ahead of it in the Sweet 16 and Kansas and Texas Tech in the Elite Eight. Weber says he’s not sure he’s ever had a team that had the leadership to overcome so much.